Oettinger: Ukraine to prepay $385 per thousand cubic meters of Russian gas until March 31, without "take or pay" obligation
The European Commission, Russia and Ukraine agreed at the Brussels round of negotiations on October 21 that Russia would be selling gas to Ukraine until March 31 at a price of $385 per thousand cubic meters on the prepayment terms and without "take or pay" obligations, European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
Oettinger said that the price of $385 per thousand cubic meters which both sides accepted at the Milan meeting would be paid in the period until the end of March as guaranteed by the Russian partners. The price cannot be changed unilaterally by a decision of the government or the parliament due to an increased export duty, he said. Secondly, the "take or pay" obligation will not apply to gas deliveries until the end of March as an exception made in the ongoing gas contract, which means that Ukraine will decide whether to request gas supplies. The deliveries will be made on the prepay conditions, the commissioner said.
Oettinger said that this deal could be formalized by two agreements, between the governments and between commercial entities.